NBCOlympics.com sucks
[Note: If you check the date on this post, it's from 2004. The 2008 site is much, much better. -J]
It's absolutely astounding to me that important commercial sites can go into production without any usability testing. NBCOlympics.com comes to mind.
I'm not that much of a sports fan, but seeing as how I coach junior Olympic volleyball in the ridiculously competitive Ohio Valley Region, and 17's at that, I can't get enough of the stuff during the Olympics. It's also really fun to watch Misty May and Kerri Walsh on the beach. There's one problem though: NBC's online schedule absolutely sucks.
If you search TV listings for a time span and by sport, you get a result list of links and vague summaries. If you click on these links, you get a pop-up with a little more detail, and you're still stuck with a vague four-hour time block. What's worse is that there is no grid that shows if something is on one of the other channels at the same time.
What the hell would've been so difficult about either:
- A grid with channels across the top and times down the side, filled in with the sport you choose?
- Or a grid with channels across the top and days down the side, with each entry including times for the sport that day?
Oh, it's also slow as hell.
If you work independently, I'm sure you feel as strongly as I do that with all of the mediocre crap out there, it's a crime that someone out there gets paid for something you could probably do ten times better and for less money.